Fighting the Shadows
by Kat-Invasion
Summary: We leave our lives in the hands of these people, these 'Demon Hunters'... If only they would take their job a little more seriously! AU, human names used, T for violence and language. DISCONTINUED.
1. Teamwork

Title: Fighting the Shadows

Author: Myself; Kat-invasion!

Rating: T, for violence and possible language in future chapters?

Disclaimer: I sadly do not own hetalia ): The concept for this story you are about to read, I do happen to own though!

* * *

**Chapter 1: Teamwork**

The air was uneasy, the autumn wind stirring the leaves around on the road. The clouds churned dark and brooding. The atmosphere as that of indecision, as if there was a storm choosing whether or not to pass.

Something was coming.

The boy stood in the middle of the road, leaves dancing around his ankles. He emanated coldness. He was curious about what could cause such a sinister mood, but had to be patient. His sisters were going to arrive soon.

He stood still, strong and silent. He kept his eyes closed. He felt the leaves skittering over his boots, the wind tugging playfully at his scarf, and the three beings approaching. The first two were closest, and they smelled familiar – his sisters. The third was faster, but stunk of darkness and blood. The boy licked his lips hungrily. A demon, finally.

The first two came up behind the boy. He turned to greet them with soft violet eyes and a wide grin. His older sister, Katya's gentle eyes returned his welcome silently, but his younger sister voiced her greeting in a hastened tone.

"Big brother, a strong one has smelled you." She told him. "The wind carried your scent."

The boy smiled devilishly. "Would it surprise you, Natalia, if I had been trying to attract a demon?"

"No, big brother." She answered in cold voice.

"Ivan," hissed Katya urgently. "You have five seconds until the demon will be upon us."

The younger sister, Natalia, looked at her brother expectantly, a smirk plastered on her face. "Would you like some assistance with this one, big brother?"

Ivan turned to face the end of the street, his long overcoat flying out behind him. He reached inside his coat, and pulled out his weapon; a water pipe.

"No, thank you, Natalia." Ivan replied calmly. "I think I will handle him myself this time."

Natalia sighed, rolling her eyes. "Very well."

"Close your eyes." Katya commanded her younger siblings.

Ivan gripped the pipe tightly and closed his eyes. "What is it, Katya?"

"It's called an Orse; a bear demon. If you look it in the eyes you will be paralyzed, completely unable to move. And it has poisonous saliva, so don't get bitten."

Ivan opened his eyes and gazed lazily at the demon standing at the end of the street, avoiding its eyes. It was a huge demon, he noticed, as he assessed his opponent. Its smoky black flesh seemed to ripple as it pawed the ground with its huge knife-like claws.

"Well then," Ivan chuckled, stepping forward, "this will be interesting."

* * *

Arthur glared at the small group sitting before him in the conference room. The hunters were of two parties, Ludwig's party, and Arthur's. Monthly the two groups would meet to discuss the quota, what Demons were most prominent lately, and hunting partnerships. Which was the topic everyone lost interest in after seconds.

With a sigh, Arthur plucked one of his many papers from the worn wooden table, looking to avoid the topic of partners for as long as possible.

"Attention everyone, please!" the Englishman called over the din the present group was causing. "This is the notice from Ivan."

He skimmed over the hand-written letter quickly as the group hushed.

"Basically, he's announcing that he has officially left the group to work with his sisters and their party, _blah, blah, blah…_ oh, and he also says that if he or either of his sisters is ever in the area when anyone has trouble, he'll gladly help out."

Alfred and Gilbert both grunted in unison to voice their 'thanks, but no thanks' to Ivan's offer. Neither was a big fan of the Russian's.

"There's another note from Wang Yao, but we can skip that."

The group sighed collectively. They heard plenty from the Demon Collector-slash-Merchant, about his new products, which rarely ever worked.

Alfred yawned, and threw his arm up into the air, as if to ask a question, but proceeded to talking anyways. "Can we just hear the partnerships and get going? Mattie and I have a huge demon to bag."

Matthew, his brother ducked his head, face flushing red. His brother was always bragging about what demon's he had or was going to decapitate next. His familiar, a polar bear named Kumajirou, gently pawed his hand.

"Alright, fine then, the Partnerships." Arthur sorted through his papers to find the list he had composed for the meeting.

"For my group; Alfred, you're with Matthew," Arthur pointed to the two blondes, and Alfred raised his hand for a high-five, which Matthew blatantly ignored. Matthew was a talented Demonologist, but he was, sadly, usually partnered with either Alfred or Gilbert, because he seemed to keep them earth-bound. Sort of; it was pretty difficult to keep Alfred _or_ Gilbert calm.

"And Francis, you're with me." Both Arthur and the Frenchman expressed their displeasure with grimaces and cussing under their breath. It was becoming an issue that Arthur's party was so small he almost always ended up with Francis. He almost always goofed off if partnered with anyone else; their shared hate for each other, and demons kept them more on-task.

"For Ludwig's party; Feliciano, you're with Ludwig," the tiny Italian beamed and seemed to be restraining himself from jumping up; as per usual, he acted as if it was a big surprise he ended up with the German. Ludwig looked away, embarrassed by Feliciano's behavior.

"Elizaveta and Roderich," one of the two girls in the room turned to a serious-looking man with glasses and dark hair. She began whispering excitedly to Roderich, probably relieved that she hadn't ended up with Gilbert; a partnership which happened on occasions when there was an outbreak of huge demons, and a super-power was required. Otherwise, the two Hunters ended up bored and would start bickering.

"Vash and Lily," Arthur named off the quiet siblings. Lily, the younger sister, smiled sweetly at Vash, who attempted to smile back, while hiding said smile. Vash was one of the more powerful Hunters in the group, but didn't work well with anyone except his sister, due to his explosive temper.

Gilbert looked at Arthur questioningly. "What about me?"

"Ah, uh, Gilbert…" Arthur reread the list. Had he forgotten Gilbert?

"Me too, stupid jerk! You forgot me too!" a tiny voice piped up from behind Arthur.

"Gilbert, you can work with Peter." Arthur announced, trying to smile, more for his own sake then anyone else's. He couldn't help but wonder how big a mistake he had just made.

* * *

Ivan walked down the road, the giant carcass dragging behind him on the sidewalk. Katya and Natalia flanked him on either side.

"You never let me fight, big brother!" Natalia whined. "I was able to fight as much as I wanted when you were in that stupid Brit's group!"

"Only because Katya doesn't fight." Ivan said calmly. "Katya is a Demonologist. She doesn't have to fight if she doesn't want to. Her only necessary job is to identify the monstrosity so we can kill it in the most effective way."

"I don't care what Katya's job is!" Natalia yelled. "I want to fight too!"

"Quiet, Natalia, please!" Katya cried, grabbing her sister's wrist. "The passers are starting to stare."

"Let them stare!" Natalia snapped, reaching for on of the knives she had hidden in the folds of her skirt. "They're lucky enough to be brain-dead and not have to see Ivan hauling that hideous Demon!"

"Don't! Don't cause a scene!" Katya warned, her tone becoming more desperate.

"Can we please continue to the collection post? The carcass is smelly." Ivan asked innocently, as if unaware of his sisters' fighting.

Natalia dropped her hands to her sides, and followed Katya and Ivan obediently to the final store on the street.

They entered the tiny shop, the door sounding with tiny bells.

From behind the counter, a tiny Chinese man with a long ponytail popped up.

"Ivan! Welcome!" he said, bowing quickly. "What can I interest you in today, aru?"

Natalia rolled her eyes, but Ivan smiled. "I have a Carcass for you today, Yao. It's a big one."

Yao perked up. "What species?" he asked, turning to Katya.

"Orse, venomous." She replied quickly.

"Well, let's have a look, aru."

Ivan lifted the dead Orse onto the countertop, and for a moment could no longer see Yao, until the man pulled a stool out from under the counter.

"This is a large one, and you kept it in good condition." Yao complimented Ivan, while inspecting the Orse. "Yes, yes, this will fetch a very high price, aru."

"How much?" Natalia asked sharply.

"Around 13,000 pieces, aru." He concluded, and fetched the stack of silver coins, and put them into the coin pouch Ivan handed him. "Can I interest you in some good luck charms? No charge, aru."

"No thank you, Yao, we best be off now." Ivan replied cheerfully.

"How about a new set of knives? A new coin pouch? Or perhaps a trap? Weapon polish?"

"Here we go again." Natalia sighed, listening to Yao's offers and Ivan's polite declines. "I give it twenty minutes before he breaks down and buys something." She whispered to Katya, who giggled in reply.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed chapter one! I'm really happy with how it has turned out, and I hope I will continue with this story!

I'm hoping to have the next chapter out soon (wishful thinking hopes for later this week?), but incase life gets in my way yet again, I apologize!

Thanks so much for reading! And, as always, reveiws are loved!

xoxo

-Kat


	2. Off With Their Head

**Chapter 2: Off With Their Head**

"I told my papa that jerk-Arthur had given me a job as your partner, and that you're going to teach me about hunting!" Peter explained in his obnoxious 12-year-old voice, a small, white dog trailing at his heels. "My papa said—"

"Where did the dog come from?" Gilbert asked in a snappy tone, interrupting Peter's story.

"It's my mama's familiar! He said I can keep Hanatomago with me for protection," the young boy answered.

"Uh, doesn't your 'mama' need his familiar to, like, function?" The German asked and the small yellow bird on his head chirped. "Hunters with familiars can't smell or see demons very well without them, y'know?"

"Like you?" Peter asked, pointing to Gilbert's head, at the bird. "That bird's your familiar, right?"

"What? What bird?" Gilbert asked, standing straight and patting down the top of his head, while the bird dodged the blows. "Is there really a bird on my head?"

"Yeah. It's yellow." Peter said, then thought for a moment. "It reminds me of you."

"Whoa, seriously?" Gilbert laughed. "That's too awesome! Just like me!"

Peter's face lit up. "Yeah! Awesome!"

The two of them laughed for a moment before Gilbert said, "Y'know kid, you're not that bad."

"Can you teach me to be awesome like you?" Peter asked, "Please?"

Gilbert's face went blank for a moment, as if in shock, but then he smiled.

"Of course!" he agreed, nodding vigorously. "Yeah! Awesome lesson number 1! Teacher Gilbert is always right!

And so Peter's 'Awesome Lessons' began.

* * *

Matthew watched warily as Alfred pointed his binoculars to the sky for the hundredth time.

"Alfred, the passers are starting to get restless. Can't you just coax the gryphen to somewhere more remote?"

Alfred hushed his brother by waving his hand at Matthew dismissively.

"Give me a second. Honestly. You Demonologists are too high-strung. Loosen up a little. Seriously," Alfred said, putting his binoculars back into his duffle bag and pulling out his rifle, cocking it, and aiming it at the sky.

"ALFRED!" Matthew shouted, making his brother jump and nearly drop the double barrel.

"Jeez! What?" Alfred yelled back.

"THE PASSERS," Matthew hissed.

"Oh, right," Alfred sighed, slinging the gun over his shoulder, and raising his arms to the petrified by-standers (who most likely saw the gryphen in the sky as a poor, defenseless falcon or something of the like), and called out, "Nothing to see here, folks! Official-government business. Get going."

Slowly the people began to disperse and Alfred shot a dazzling smile at his unimpressed brother.

I guess that works too." Matthew sighed, unphased by his brother's charisma. "Or you could, y'know, _wait until night when there are no passers in the park_." He suggested in agitation.

Alfred shifted the weight of the rifle in his hands. "Yeah, whatever, Matt."

Matthew gazed up at the gryphen his brother was aiming at. The big, half-bird-half-lion beast soared around in graceful loops, squawking fearfully at the two demon hunters standing beneath it.

The thing with gryphens is that they're pretty smart. They pass things on (the whole '_tell-your-friends, -teach-your-children_' bit), and one of the things they passed on was Alfred; his sent, his tactics, the way he looks. Survival of the fittest turned into survival of the smartest bird-lion-thing. Matthew almost felt sorry for the gryphen. He wouldn't wish his brother on anyone. The only thing that kept him from telling Al to put the gun away and go find a Manticore or something was the knowledge that the gryphen had more likely then not, eaten a child in the past week.

For whatever reason, gryphens found snot-nosed brats quite tasty.

Alfred cocked his gun, aiming the barrel at the gryphen. He smirked as he pulled he trigger and the gryphen screeched in pain.

As the dead bird-thing plummeted to the ground, Alfred whistled casually (a way of him saying 'hey, I'm so tank I can kill an airborne adult gryphen with one bullet' with out actually saying it), drawing his hunting knife.

"Come to papa," He said, twirling the knife in his fingers, and knelt next to the dead gryphen. Matthew turned away, grimacing. He had tried many times to convince his brother that gryphens sold for a lot more in one piece then beheaded. He had even checked with the other hunters in their group. But Alfred insisted on beheading the demon before handing it over to Wang Yao, who found the habit gruesome and rather appalling, as well as a damage of product.

Matthew had once been in charge of carrying the gryphen's head when ever Alfred killed one (a rather disgusting, vomit inducing job), until he had Kumajirou carry it; which was still extremely revolting because the polar bear's thoughts were projected into Matthew's mind, because Kumajirou was his familiar. Matthew finally told Alfred to carry his own "garbage".

But the very worst part was that Alfred adored killing gryphens.

* * *

"Teach me how to kill a demon, Gilbert!" Peter pleaded his 'mentor' for the hundredth time.

"No can do, kid." Gilbert said. "Maybe your dad will show you."

"But we're here already! I mean, you just said a minute ago that this park is home to tones of demons!"

"Yeah, lots of them. You know what a good portion of those demons like to eat?" Gilbert said dryly. "Kids."

"So?" Peter retorted in the whiniest voice Gilbert had ever heard.

"So," Gilbert mimicked the boy's tone, "I don't want you getting eaten and being held responsible, and then having your dad come and kick my as—my butt, from here to Timbuktu and back again." The young man shivered at the thought of Berwald

The twelve year old sighed. "You almost said ass." He said pointedly.

"I did no such thing. "Gilbert said.

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Whatever Paul." Gilbert sneered.

"It's Peter. My name hasn't changed in the past, like, five minutes." The boy scoffed at the older man. "You should let me kill a demon to say sorry."

"You should try again when you've grown a few feet taller." Gilbert said, laughing. "So not going to happen.'

"Can I watch _you_ kill a demon?" Peter said after a moment's silence.

"Nope."

"Can I watch someone else kill a demon?" he asked again after a pause.

"No."

"Can I at least _see_ a demon?" he asked, throwing his arms up in exasperation.

Gilbert sighed, and thought of the most-harmless demon possible.

"Okay, let's find us a dragon." He said.

* * *

Alfred and Matthew entered Yao's collection post to find not Yao, but Kaoru, behind the counter. Kaoru was one of Yao's many realatives, a Hong Kong Chinese boy with choppy jaw-length hair and thicker eyebrows then Yao.

Now, the only reason Kaoru was behind the counter, surrounded by various (possibly-illegal) Demon hunting products, was because Yao was hiding in one of the back rooms of his store. He was hiding because moments earlier, he had seen Alfred approaching the collection post with a dead, headless gryphen slung over his shoulders and a big, stupid smile on his face.

"Oh shit, aru." the small chinese man had cried, and, not wanting to deal with this customer and his beheaded demon-friend, ran to the back room Kaoru was in, and traded places with his realative.

Talking to Kaoru was much like talking to a rock with the ability to talk and not much else, or so Matthew thought. He also thought it a little sketchy that Kaoru was out front, since he wasn't a licensed collector (and could possibly end up arrested for excepting a collection). The teen just worked at the post.

"Hello Kaoru!" Alfred greeted the younger boy, who gave a stiff bow in return. "I've brought a gryphen today. How many pieces for the head?"

"Yao said I should tell any customers that we are not excepting headless-gryphens today." Kaoru said in a drawl, and Alfred's jaw dropped. "We are not collecting today at all. But we are selling our products. Would you like a crate of fire crackers?"

Neither blonde replied to Kaoru, so he tried again. "Can I offer you some bao then? If you buy both a crate of fire crackers and a box of bao, you can purchase a third product (either bao or fire crackers) for half off. The fourth you buy is free, and you get a lucky panda aswell." Kaoru said, lifting a stuufed-toy panda onto the counter. "Today we are only selling bao and fire crackers."

Alfred, still gawking, turned on his heels and violently yanked the door open, sending the bells into a frenzied chorus. "C'mon Mattie, let's go to a differant collector."

Matthew's head swivelled between his older brother and the apprentice collector, and chose to follow Alfred's example and high-tail it out of Yao's store before Kaoru made another offer of bao(or fire crackers).

Yao returned to the front of the store, his arms crossed over his chest.

"You should have offered them a Shinatty good-luck charm." he chastised the younger boy, who quickly removed himself from the front counter to the storage room once again. He had had enough excitment for one day. And the headless gryphen made him want to hurl.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! I bring you chapter two!

I also apologize for the over-mentioned headless-gryphen, ha ha haa.... I'm really sorry to those of you with squeamish tendencies!

I had way too much fun writing Gilbo and Peter. I just love Gilbo; He's too insane to not enjoy writing! And of course he's scared of Sweden- who isn't? lol.

Anyways, some clarification of names and what have you from both this chapter and last, in case you had no clue who I was talking about;

Katya is Ukraine - I'm not sure if anyone knew that, but I like the name personally...

Lily is Liechtenstien - I'm sure that a lot of people know this but just incase,

Kaoru is Hong Kong - HK was also very fun to write this chapter, and I really hope to use him again in the story! lol.

That's just about it, although I'd like to clarify that Gilbrid is Prussia's familiar, but Gilbo generally forget about him v ;;

Thank you all so much for reading this chapter! I am also thinking of putting a guide to the term and demons up as a seperate story, or putting it on my blog? If you would lik to see that, please let me know!

Thanks again!

-Kat !!


	3. Peter and the Dragon

**Chapter 3: Peter and the Dragon**

"Okay, so this is a dragon!" Gilbert announced. "Isn't it _cool_?"

"No," Peter grumbled, while rolling his eyes. "It's boring."

Gilbert had to agree. The dragon sat atop a moss covered rock in a clearing he had managed to locate in the park's tiny "forest". The dragon was a squat little creature; barely the size of Peter's hand, and its tail was about as long as Peter's thumb. Its huge, spherical eyes were staring off into space, unfocused.

Peter yawned. "Does it do anything other then bore people to death? I mean, it's a pretty sad excuse for a demon."

"It'll spit fire if you poke it." Gilbert shrugged. "Not much else. Passers can see it because it's so harmless, though."

"Why is it that passers can't see demons like Demon hunters can?" the boy asked, and Gilbert frowned.

"I dunno." He said, "I mean, little kids can see demons, for the most part, but only a few don't grow out of it. Kids whose parents are demon hunters almost always end up as a Demon Hunter or Demonologist. It's pretty rare for them to end up powerless. And with siblings, if one of them is a Demon Hunter, all of them are Demon Hunters.

"For example, my brother and I; our dad was a big-time Demon Hunter. Both Ludwig and I are Demon Hunters. Same goes for Matthew and Alfred and both their parents."

"What happened to Matthew and Alfred's parents?" Peter asked. He'd never heard anyone mention the two brothers having family.

"Dead; I hear it was a fire when both of them were very, very little. Arthur raised them." Gilbert sighed. "It really sucks, y'know, kid?"

"Yeah…" Peter agreed.

"So, what do you want to do now? We can go get ice cream or something…"

"I want to try to catch it." Peter said, pointing at the dragon, which made Gilbert laugh.

"I'd like to see you try!" he scoffed, obviously having forgotten that his responsibility was to keep Peter from getting hurt.

The dragon, still gazing off, was not aware of the two boys watching it from behind the bushes at the edge of the clearing. Had it been paying attention, it would have noticed that the smaller of the two was gradually making his way to the rock which the tiny demon perched on, ever so silently. The dragon was not even aware of the boy's presence when he was standing with his shadow engulfing the rock, and his large blue hat in his hands.

It is debatable though, as to whether or not the dragon was aware that it was no longer on the rock, but captured in said boy's blue hat.

Peter froze, unsure of what to do next. "Uh, I caught it…"

"Holy crap. Holy crap. _HOLY FREAKING CRAP_," Gilbert said, in utter shock. "You're a Keeper! You're a _KEEPER_."

"I'm a what?"

"You're a Demon Keeper!" Gilbert said, waving his arms around uselessly. "Don't they teach you kids anything in school?!"

"But… I'm home schooled…" Peter said, still unsure of what the albino was talking about.

"A Demon Keeper catches demons! Only certain people are able to catch demons! I mean, like, I can't, but you! You can!" Gilbert said, excitement scattering his thoughts. "I mean… Holy crap kid, you're going to get _so_ rich."

"How rich?" Peter cried, now excited as well, despite the fact that he still didn't really understand what a Keeper was.

"I don't know!" Gilbert said, "Rich is rich! There's only, like two other Demon keepers out there right now! Ever heard of Gupta Muhammad Hassan?"

"No."

"Never mind then; he's some Egyptian Keeper that West and Arthur talk about sometimes."

"Okay," Peter mumbled, "but what do we do _now_?"

"We go tell someone, duh." Gilbert explained.

"And then we sell the dragon?" Peter beamed, the aspect of money making him greedy.

"I like the way you think, kid." Gilbert smiled slyly. "I like the way you think."

* * *

"Face it Heracles, we're lost!" the masked man yelled.

Heracles turned slowly, the mewling cats pooled around his ankles shifting as his feet moved.

"No Sadiq, for the hundredth time, we are not lost." He said slowly, "We're in the right city…"

"_We're in the right city…_!" Sadiq said in a mocking voice. "Great! Fantastic- where the hell _in _the city are we?!"

"We're almost there…!" Heracles gritted his teeth, and muttered something loud enough for Sadiq to hear.

"Whaddya say, brat?!" Sadiq roared, grabbing the front of the younger man's white t-shirt.

"_STUPID TURK, STUPID TURK! YOU'RE STUPID- GO BACK TO YOUR STUPID, STUPID COUNTRY_." He snapped right back.

"Gladly! Tell me the way out of this cesspit and I'll leave!"

The two men continued yelling, scaring off any by passers who came near on either side of the street.

"You stink of cats!"

"You stink of _shit_!"

"Go back to Greece!"

"Go back to Turkey!"

As Sadiq and Heracles continued their bickering, Gupta, the third member of their party, reached into one of the pots he was carrying, and pulled out a wrinkled city map.

He waved it around, trying to catch someone's attention, but neither the Greek nor Turk took notice.

The tiny Egyptian sighed, unfolding the map. It was becoming very tedious to work with the two constantly-bickering demon hunters, if not impossible. Their party was completely useless; a semi-mute Demon Keeper, and two Demon Hunters that were more likely to kill each other then a demon.

Heracles looked up just as Gupta turned the corner on the now-empty street, his nose buried in the map.

"Where is he going?" Sadiq asked.

"I don't know… but I think that's a city map he has there..." Heracles said slowly, as it registered in his mind that Gupta had had this map the whole time.

Sparing only enough time to exchange glances, Sadiq and Heracles dashed down the street after the Keeper, a small stream of cats that would leave allergenics reeling for weeks close behind them.

* * *

Arthur had spent his afternoon doing paperwork, sipping tea, and humming to himself.

Francis, who had stayed home "sick", called around twelve thirty to ask Arthur if he had seen his magazine, which he had forgotten at the meeting the day before. Arthur spent approximately five seconds looking under his paperwork before dubbing the search futile and going to read his new mystery novel.

Two hours and 287 pages later, Arthur's friend, Sir Abbotson IV the unicorn came to talk to Arthur about the prominent species of demons that were becoming dangerously overpopulated as of late. Sir Abbotson IV also treated Arthur to a lovely story about his sister, Sparkles.

Arthur never actually got to hear the end of the story, because Peter and Gilbert barged into the dimly lit room, Peter swinging his hat around, yelling "Guess what! Guess what!"

Arthur, on a scale of one to ten, didn't give a rat's ass as to what Peter wanted him to guess.

"What did you to do?" Arthur sighed, and couldn't help but wonder how much money their mischief would cost him.

"He's a Keeper!" Gilbert explained enthusiastically.

Arthur frowned. "A Keeper? I wasn't planning on getting rid of him…?"

"Stupid jerk-Arthur!" Peter cried. "I'm a Demon Hunter! _Duh_!"

It took Arthur approximately ten seconds to understand what Peter had meant.

And then he fainted.

* * *

The map Gupta had led them to an old dentist's office – a crumbling stucco building with a logo of a grinning molar holding a gaudy pink tooth brush in the dusty window. Next to the personified tooth hung a generic "Sorry, we're CLOSED" sign.

"If it's closed, we can't get in." Sadiq said as Heracles rolled his eyes. "It's a shame: I really wanted to get my teeth cleaned."

Gupta huffed in exasperation, stuffing the map into its pot and scaling the cracked concrete stairs which led to the door. He pushed on the handle, and the door swung open. He stopped momentarily to gesture for the two other men to follow him in.

Heracles and Sadiq stood awkwardly in the office lobby. It looked just like a normal dentist's waiting room, aside from the tiny Egyptian skittering around and the numerous cats clamoring about. Everything was coated in a thick layer of dust, the phone on the receptionist's desk outdated and obviously untouched in a very, very long time.

Gupta, who had been searching for a key to the door in the back of the waiting room (the only thing that looked as if it had been used in the last century), and found one of Heracles' cats gnawing on it on top of the magazine rack. Snatching it form the fluffy calico, he turned to unlock the door.

Sadiq squinted as bright artificial light filled the waiting room. Behind the door was a long, well lit and pristine hallway with doors lining the walls. The very last door on the left was opened wide.

Gupta rushed toward the opened doorway, and the Turk and Greek cautiously followed. Heracles found the scene before him quite perplexing. There were two young men, a blonde with large eyebrows (seemingly unconscious), and an albino with a yellow bird on his head. There was a younger boy too, who looked like a tinier version of the unconscious man.

The albino looked up at the three new comers. "Oh. Hey there." He said. "We're, uh, having some technical difficulties. Glad you found your way in."

The sandy blonde kid beamed up at the new men. "I'm a keeper!"

Sadiq grinned. "That's cute. Gupta's a keeper too, aren't ya?"

Gupta just stared at the tall Turk.

"So, who are you looking for?" the albino asked while attempting to subtly nudge the unconscious man with his foot. "I'm Gilbert Bielschmidt."

"We're looking for either Ludwig or Arthur." Heracles answered slowly.

"Well, Arthur's a little busy being half-dead at the moment," Gilbert said, pointing to the man on the floor casually while the boy laughed madly. "West isn't here either, but I can call him. I'm his older brother."

"Please do." Heracles said, with a nod.

Gilbert pulled out his cell phone and hit a speed dial, while the kid approached the strangers.

"My name's Peter Kirkland! Jerk-Arthur is my brother, but I don't live with him." the boy said cheerfully. "I live with my parents who adopted me!"

"Oh." Heracles answered, not really having listened. "Why is your brother unconscious?"

The boy shrugged and said "Because he's a wuss, that's why."

"West will be here in a minute." Gilbert called, snapping his phone closed and pocketing it. "He's been expecting you guys for a while, apparently."

* * *

A/N: Another chapter down! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter of Fighting the Shadows!

- Kat

(Hahaha, has anyone else been listening to Mein Gott obsessively? _I have~_! XDD )


	4. Everyone's Favourite Collector

**Chapter 4: Everyone's Favourite Collector**

Matthew sighed, watching Alfred and Aleksander argue over the gryphen's corpse.

Aleksander was the infamous Norwegian-traveling-collector. His infamy came from his exclusive collecting habits, as well as his old-fashion caravan, which drew plenty of attention to himself.

"You have to accept this! It's a perfectly good gryphen" Alfred whined, pointing to the dead demon on Aleksander's porch/counter, the gryphen's head propped up so it was staring with dead eyes at the collector's younger brother, Daniel. The white-haired Demonologist covered his mouth as he yawned, leaning against the door frame behind Aleksander.

"I'm sorry, Alfred," Aleksander said curtly, crossing his arms over his chest, his tone that of well-hidden exasperation. "But I simply cannot accept this gryphen."

"Is it because of the head?" Alfred cried, throwing his hands in the air. "Just super glue it back on!"

"No," Aleksander said, gritting his teeth. "It is no issue with the bird. It is because you are not Berwald, nor are you Tino, and you are definitely not Mathias. In case you haven't heard, I only trade with them."

"He's told you that twice now." Daniel sneezed.

Matthew's cell phone blipped in his pocket, telling him he had received a new message. He took out his shiny black cell (with a number only the other Demon Hunters had access to), and saw it was a notification Ludwig had sent to everyone in the group, calling a meeting the next day. He quickly sent a reply confirming that both he and Alfred would be attending before putting the phone away.

"C'mon! You have to take it! You don't even have to pay me!" Alfred wailed shaking his hands in Aleksander's face. "You can't make a profit from just three customers!"

"There is no money involved in what collectors do with the carcasses."

"Then what the hell do you then? Eat it?!" Alfred scoffed.

"No." the Norwegian clenched his fists at his sides. "Besides, it does not concern you."

Matthew rested his hand on Alfred's forearm. The mood was getting tense, but naturally Alfred didn't sense the oncoming brawl. "Al, we can find another collector, somewhere else..."

"Shut up Mattie, I've got this in the bag." Alfred hissed. "He's going to crack any second now."

"No he isn't." Daniel said, sneezing again.

"Please Aleksander, please, please, please!!" Alfred begged the other boy, while smacking his hands on the caravan's porch step. "Make an exception, just this once!"

"No." Aleksander snapped, and returned to the interior of the caravan, pulling Daniel in with him.

"Okay Alfred," Matthew said as his elder brother threw the corpse over his shoulder for the fifth time, but left the head propped on the porch. A 'gift'. "Time to go to the next collector... Who is it?"

Alfred remained silent, stumbling down the road that led back to the city. He turned his head to look at Matthew briefly, before turning away.

"... Feliks, that's who..."

* * *

Feliks' trading post was on the opposite side of the city from the group's dentist-office headquarters. It was tucked away behind an old dress store and a vegan grocery, but it was still impossible to miss.

The door to Feliks' post was painted a bright shade of pink.

Feliks himself was not the most professional collector. He was extremely, well, unprofessional. With a choice between Wang Yao and Feliks Łukasiewicz, Hunters would generally choose Yao, even if the latter was closer.

Alfred approached the store cautiously, glancing over his shoulder frequently, praying that no one he knew would see him. Matthew followed him in, eyes rolling at how timid Al had become.

The interior of the post was even worse then the exterior. There were pink trinkets set up on the shelves, which were otherwise bare. The walls were plastered with posters of ponies, kittens, flowers, and many other things that clashed with the nature of the business dealt with in the store.

"Like, wow. There are, like, _two _customers." Feliks said in his lazy tone, putting his gossip magazine aside. "Can I, like, help you?"

Alfred dropped the gryphen onto the counter in front of the feminine blonde boy, who pinched the end of his nose at the stench of death.

"Oh my god, that totally reeks." He scoffed, before calling over his shoulder into the back room. "_LIET_! We're gonna, like, need some disinfectant! Seriously, oh my god."

Matthew sighed as Feliks looked the beast over, one hand covering his nose. This might take a while.

"I don't know if you've, like, noticed," he said, "but this _thing's_ head's, like, missing. Just F.Y.I."

"No really." Alfred growled. He didn't bother mentioning how he had left the head on Aleksander's porch-counter. "How much?"

"I'd say, like, 9,500 pieces for it. 'Cos, like, the head's missing and stuff."

"Deal." Alfred snapping, eyes darting around the store. He was getting antsy. Matthew didn't blame him. "Y'know what, you can just have it for free."

"Wow, seriously?" Feliks said, eyes lighting up. "That's like, totally cool. Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Alfred said, and grabbed his brother's forearm, dragging him out of the store before Feliks could say, "like, bye".

* * *

Ludwig was at the head of the table, standing over everyone with a disciplined expression on his face. The three strangers, Heracles, Gupta, and Sadiq, sat to his right, Gupta between the two bigger men, a pot balanced in his lap.

No one seemed able to take their eyes off the strange new comers. Heracles, for one, was constantly followed by a varying number of cats- at this moment, he had one clinging to the front of his shirt, one sprawled over his shoulders, and a third seated on the table before him. He also always seemed to be half asleep, his words slow and lazy.

Sadiq, on the other hand, was a tall, older man with tanned skin and a short beard gracing his chin. He wore a white mask over his eyes, brow and the bridge of his nose. He and Heracles seemed incapable of getting along.

Gupta, who was at least a head shorter then both of his companions, was also rather eccentric. He was a Demon Keeper, using the clay pots he toted around to catch his demons. In one of his pots, there was his familiar, a skinny black jackal named Anubis, although the dog like creature seemed shy, and was rarely seen. Even rarer still was hearing Gupta speak. As far as the group was concerned, the Egyptian was a mute.

Everyone was in attendance, except Francis, who was still 'sick'. Arthur sat uneasily at the opposite end of the old wooden table from Ludwig, not used to listening to someone and not talking at a meeting, although Ludwig was better at controlling the group then him. Ludwig was just a lot more… frightening then the Englishman.

The group members nervously chattered amongst themselves, or stayed absolutely silent and still- and example of the latter being Vash, who sat rigidly next to his sister.

"Everyone!" Ludwig said, drawing all attention to him.

"These people," he gestured to Heracles, Gupta and Sadiq, "are my guests, as well as yours. They will be joining us for the foreseeable future. Any questions?"

Everyone exchanged glances, and no one raised their hand. Feliciano started humming. Aside from that it was silent until Peter suddenly jumped up, hand cutting into the air above his head.

"Question!" he cried, waving his hand around as if Ludwig hadn't seen him yet.

"Yes?" Ludwig said stiffly, looking down skeptically at the child.

"When's my Papa coming?"

"Two o'clock," Arthur grumbled, pushing the boy back onto his rear. "Sit down properly, Peter."

Ludwig sighed. "Any more questions?"

Gilbert yawned, stretching his arms out and sitting back until his chair was leaning precariously on its back legs. "I've got nothin'."

"Aside from you, bruder," Ludwig sighed.

"There… is someone… at the door," Heracles yawned before slumping against the conference table, asleep. Everyone turned to look at the door leading in and out of the conference room, staring it down. A few people jumped when they heard the loud knocking from the other side.

"I wonder who it is?" Elizaveta thought aloud, Roderich quietly nodding, as if their thoughts were shared.

"It must be my papa!" Peter cried in excitement.

"It isn't Berwald, Peter; he won't be here 'til two," Arthur sighed, checking the clock on the wall.

"It's probably the Easter bunny," Alfred snorted.

Ludwig sighed. "Is anyone going to get the door or—"

Everyone startled as the door broke off its hinges, standing independently for a second before meeting the ground with a terrifying crack.

"Holy shit!" Alfred yelled. Vash drew a gun from the inside of his coat, exhaling sharply.

After a few moments of everyone holding their breath, Berwald ducked in through the doorway, his usual glare on his face. Everyone backed away from the huge man except Peter, Vash dropping his gun to the floor with a metallic clatter.

"Ah… Berwald…" Arthur stuttered. "How nice of you to… Drop by…"

The Swede ignored Arthur, holding his hand out to Peter. "T'me t'go, P't'r."

Tino stepped into the room behind his husband, mouth gaping.

"Oh my goodness… I told you to _knock_, Berwald!" the small blonde man cried, gesturing to the splintered door and disfigured frame.

"I d'd kn'ck, b't th'y d'dn't 'nsw'r." Berwald grunted, his glare never leaving his face, but his words sounded softer.

"So you kicked the door down?" Tino sighed, a rhetorical question. "I am so sorry everyone, really…"

"S'okay," Alfred grunted, attempting to mimic Berwald. Matthew elbowed him hard in the ribs. "I mean, its okay, just, y'know… new door."

Tino frowned, looking between the group and Berwald, before leading Peter out into the corridor. Berwald grunted a "good bye" before following them out.

Arthur shook his head slowly. "Well," he said, "looks like we're going to need a new conference room."

* * *

A/N: Hello again my lovelies ~ I bring yet another chapter of pure insanity to you! (finally summing up Alfred and Mattie's gryphen issue, hahaa)

I'd like to thank my reveiwers, The Similar, Constalina, AnimeFallingStar, and Eesti Girl! I swear, reveiws just warm my heart!!...

Okay, enough sappy stuff. I made Finland SUCH a mother hen. I almost felt bad about it.

Almost.

But I didn't :D .

Anyhoooo, I hope you enjoyed yet another chapter of Fighting the Shadows! More to come sooner then you think!

(and but ofcourse, reveiws and CC are totally, like, welcome C; .)

- Kat !!


	5. Noisy Ghost

**Chapter 5: Noisy Ghost**

The house was at least two hundred years old. It shuddered in the wind, held together by nails rusted to the core and decomposing wood. In its time, the house had been owned by a relatively rich family.

Ivan stood in the house's cowering shadow, as if afraid of the Russian. Natalia stood beside him with a deadpan expression on her face, the wind playing with her long hair. Katya was behind Ivan, shivering.

"How strange," Ivan chuckled, watching the leaves tumble by.

"What is it brother?" Natalia asked intently, eyes flicking up to study Ivan's profile.

"Is it the house?" Katya whispered, "I sense a strong demon is in there…"

"What? No," Ivan smiled cheerfully, "I was just thinking how funny it is how last time we went hunting it was windy, and it's windy today, too."

"Uh huh." Natalia frowned.

"You sure its not the house?" Katya asked, tugging on Ivan's scarf.

"Oh, da." Ivan said slowly. "The house. There's a strong demon in there."

"W-what should we do?" Katya murmured.

"Well, obviously we should go kill it." Natalia said, rolling her eyes. "Let's go."

Katya stood alone on the street, trembling, and watched her siblings enter the dead house. "Wait for me…!"

She raced up to the front step, after her younger siblings. She clambered up the rickety porch steps, and carefully stepped into the house. As she entered the house, she was hit by a wave of nausea, nearly doubling her over. The strength of the demon overpowered her senses, making her feel dizzy and light headed.

Natalia stood in the hall way, having checked the rooms on the lower floor completely. "Are you okay?"

Katya nodded, although it wasn't very convincing. "Where's Ivan?"

"He went ahead, upstairs." Natalia replied, approaching her older sister carefully, offering her hand. "We should go catch up."

There were only two rooms on the upper floor of the house. One was an ancient linen closet- so not really a room- filled with numerous moth-eaten dresses and a dusty, well-worn parasol. The other room was a dreary space, crammed with canvas-covered furniture. Everything was coated in a thick layer of dust and multiple cobwebs stringing objects together in an eerie network.

At the far end of the room from where Natalia and Katya stood, there was a wardrobe. Ivan was posed before it as if he had just thrown the heavy wooden doors open, arms out stretched, fingers barely gracing the sides of the planks of wood. He stared into the empty cupboard indolently.

"Brother, did you find the demon?" Natalia asked, glancing into the cupboard as well.

Ivan turned to look at Natalia, a peculiar look on his face. Then he made a noise that sounded much like gagging, as if he was being strangled. It took both girls a moment to realize he was laughing, all though it wasn't their brother's familiar chuckle.

"There was no demon. We must have made a mistake." He said, his voice throatier then usual.

"We can't have been wrong!" Natalia snapped. "All three of us could sense it outside. Katya almost fainted downstairs because of how strong its presence is!"

Natalia went to pull out a knife when Ivan grabbed her arms, grinning broadly as he twisted them slightly. She held study, eyes boring into his.

"No need to over react, sister." He hissed, the gagging-chuckle creeping into his words. "I looked everywhere in the room. There is no demon."

Natalia's eyes narrowed, not believing him for a second. She pulled her arms back. "You're acting strange, brother," she said quietly, her tone sharp.

"Am I?" he asked as if surprised, his face splitting-grin not faulting for a second. "Well, I suppose I am not feeling well… Perhaps we should search out medication?"

Ivan left before either one of his sisters could reply, and only exchanging worried glances, Natalia and Katya followed him out.

* * *

Poltergeist woke in the dark, the scent of strong humans in his nostrils. His limbs were tangled and stiff, sore from being cramped into the old wardrobe.

"Poltergeist sleep long time. How long Poltergeist sleep?" the ghost-demon mumbled to himself. He then lifted his snout, confirming the presence of humans. There were three of them, although only two of them were eligible hosts. The weaker of the two smelt of cold metal- like silver knives. The other one, the stronger one, was right outside Poltergeist's prison.

Ivan only had enough time to catch a glance of the demon's bulging yellow eyes and dog-like snout before it gave an inhuman squeal and jumped into him- literally, settling into his mind and body.

"What are you doing?" Ivan asked the poltergeist, more bemused then anything at the fact that the demon was possessing him.

"Sorry! Poltergeist be taking this for while." Ivan could feel it smiling inside him, and then everything went fuzzy, losing complete control of himself.

"Brother," the second strongest host addressed Poltergeist, coming up beside his borrowed body, "did you find the demon?"

The ghost laughed at the female-host's silly question.

"There was no demon." The parasite said.

There was only Poltergeist.

* * *

A/N: Short, chapter is short. lol. Hey guys. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. A little bit of ghosts, a little bit of Russia. S'all good.

Half-way through writing this chapter, I realized that the beginning of this chapter was sort of exactly like the first chapter. Hence Ivan's dorking out with his "_I was just thinking how funny it is how last time we went hunting it was windy, and it's windy today, too_" line xDD

Thanks for the reveiws guys!! I keep getting all these warm fuzzies w (hahaa).

NEXT CHAPTER'S COMIN' UP. AWW YEAH.

Reveiws are welcome, per usual !!

- love Kat !

_P.S. I'm surprised you guys actually read what I say in these A/N hahaa. Makes me feel special xDD_


	6. A Shot in the Dark

**Chapter 6: A Shot in the Dark**

Katya's headache never really went away. No matter where she went, she still felt ill, especially when she was near Ivan. It was the same feeling she had gotten at the old, run-down house; her head would spin, her stomach leap into her throat.

Once she had fainted because of it.

Natalia started watching both her older siblings very carefully. She watched Katya to be sure she didn't faint again. Made sure she didn't get too close to Ivan. Which was hard, to say the least.

She watched Ivan cautiously, wary of his every move. Sometimes he'd watch her watch him, the ever-present smirk on his face (which was a relatively unsettling experience). She had a dreadful feeling it wasn't Ivan who was watching her.

She had an even more horrific hunch that she was right.

* * *

There were a lot more humans around then last time, Poltergeist noticed. They were everywhere, the smell of them almost chokingly thick, although there were very few hosts, most of the other humans oblivious to his presence.

"Brother, we turn this way to get to Yao's." the younger host, Natalia, snapped, glaring resentfully at Poltergeist. "We're going to buy something."

Poltergeist followed obediently, bemused by the girl's harsh tone. He could tell the girl didn't like him, whether she knew he had possessed her brother or not being irrelevant.

He had decided to take an inventory on his host's possessions, although there wasn't much aside from the man's clothing. The only thing of use was a strange tube of metal with a knob atop it's crook; the only other things the host had was a bottle of liquid too strong tasting to be water stashed in a concealed pocket, and the long white scarf draped around the host's neck. But even then, the host was physically superior to any of the other humans Poltergeist had seen so far.

The female humans lead Poltergeist to a tiny, oriental-style shop. On the interior, it was crowded with various products, the walls draped and painted red, and wind chimes lining the front windows, looking out onto the street. Poltergeist could smell at least four humans in the back of the store, behind the visible walls. The fifth human was standing out front, short with dark hair tied in a long ponytail.

"Hello Natalia, Ivan, Katya" He nodded to each of them respectively. "How can I help you, aru?"

Natalia slammed her hand on the counter top, a fierce glare on her face. "I need a gun and demon-bullets. _Now_."

* * *

Yao was not a reckless man. He knew what was right, what was wrong. But he also knew that when the semi-psychotic customer asks for a gun, you get the gun. Or else she'll get it herself.

He got the handgun from the room Yong-soo was working in, sorting boxes.

"Guns originated in me, y'know," The Korean boy said.

"Shut up, aru."

Yao hoped Natalia would leave with Ivan and the gun and leave his family and his store be. He was his sibling's keeper- he had to protect Mei, Kaoru, Yong-soo, and Lan; and Kiku too, even if he didn't like it. And had disappeared a while ago. He only picked up his phone for Mei, and hung up if it wasn't really her, or if she started asking questions like "_where are you?_" and "_when are you coming home?_"

With shaking hands, Yao put the gun and cartridge demon-bullets down on the tabletop before Natalia and her cold gaze. Demon-bullets were specialized so they couldn't kill a human, although they could hurt them. The bullets were expensive and finicky; so most people (most people being Alfred and Vash, who used bullets up like oxygen, and came to Yao's shop periodically for new rounds,) bought regular bullets.

Natalia watched Yao as he backed away from the counter, away from the gun. She picked up the weapon gingerly, sliding it into her grip; a perfect fit. There was a cruel glint in her eyes she hooked her finger around the trigger, and aimed the barrel at Ivan's head.

* * *

Yong-soo was in the back of the store, in one of the storage rooms. Through the thin walls, he could hear everything. He could hear Mei and Lan chatting quietly in the next room, too quietly for him to make out the words, but he could make out the syllables. He liked to think he could hear Kaoru's silence, but of course that didn't really make sense. Silence wouldn't be silence if you could hear it.

He would know; silence originated in him.

There were four storage rooms in Yao's shop. The first one, the girls always worked in. The second was Yong-soo's and the third Kaoru's. The fourth one had been Kiku's, before he left to become a hunter. That was a long time ago, Yong-soo was just little then.

Kiku had left when Yong-soo was nearly ten. That would have made Kaoru eight, and Mei eleven. Lan was twelve, or thirteen. He didn't know how old Yao was- no one did. And even though it had been six years, he hadn't shown any sign of aging. Now that Yong-soo thought of it, Yao hadn't changed at all since he could remember.

Yong-soo looked up when he heard the bells on the front door chime. The girls' chatter stopped briefly. Kaoru's silence became quieter (although it was still in Yong-soo's imagination that he could even hear Kaoru's silence in the first place). He heard a familiar voice, Natalia's, demanding something from Yao. Moments later, Yao peered into Yong-soo's storeroom.

Yong-soo watched intently as Yao inspected the guns stored on the shelf. He picked one, tucking the box under his arm, then grabbed a second box from the top shelf, where the ammo was kept, which Yong-soo was forbidden from touching. Ever. Even in emergencies.

As Yao turned to leave, face pale, Yong-soo smiled.

"Guns originated in me, y'know," he said boisterously.

"Shut up, aru." Yao said irritably, returning to the storefront.

Yong-soo didn't return to his work, staying silent, trying to eaves drop.

But all he heard was a girl's terrified shriek, followed in close succession by a loud gunshot.

* * *

Poltergeist felt something clip him in the shoulder inside his host's body- his real, bony, demon's shoulder- but the pain was replaced by a tearing sensation, as if he was being ripped apart. Then there was a brief moment where he was flying through the air, until he violently slapped against the far wall of the store.

Natalia aimed her gun at the demon, planning the most lethal shot possible- a bullet straight to the head.

Ignoring her older sister's terrified wailing, her beloved older brother's convulsing body, and the shop keeper's shocked gurgling noises, Natalia locked her eyes on the monstrosity before her and pulled the trigger.

But the only thing the bullet hit was the wall.

The ghost was gone.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys, long time no update D: I apologize for that.

I don't have much to say about this chapter except I spent a week sitting in the exact same spot in the school library writing it and I absolutely adore writing Yong-soo.

I chose Lan for Veitnam's name, because it means orchid, and I like orchids (reasoning= fail).

And, about Poltergeist; his name is Poltergeist as well as his species being a poltergeist. I admit it, I didn't want to come up with a name for him. What ever. In my head, his voice sounds like Gollum's from _Lord of the Rings_. I have no idea.

Anyways, thanks for bearing with me! Reveiws and CC are always welcome, per usual!

- Kat C:


	7. Solutions and Sticky Situations

**Chapter 7: Solutions and Sticky Situations**

_a.k.a, Kat finally gets off her lazy ass and finally updates her freaking story._

* * *

Ivan slowly regained consciousness, although he had no clue where he was. He could hear someone sobbing, the noise tinny and distant-sounding. Somewhere in the depths of his slowly-waking mind, he knew it was his older sister, but he couldn't tell where she was, or what she was crying over this time.

"For god's sake, Katya," Ivan heard Natalia snap, her voice sounding strained like she was speaking underwater, "would you stop crying?"

"You killed him… You killed Ivan…" Katya moaned, her voice's pitch bubbling, making Ivan's ears ache. "You killed your own brother…"

Ivan's vision returned slowly, much slower then his hearing did. Everything seemed darkened, as if he were outside in the middle of the night. He was staring wide-eyed at the dim image of a ceiling, with someone leaning over him, looking more like a big blur than a person. As his vision grew clearer, he was able to make out the person to be his older sister, Katya, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Ivan," she gave a grieving moan, "Ivan, wake _uppppppp_…"

"K-Katya..." HHe mumbled, finding his mouth dry and his tongue feeling heavy as lead.

Natalia was standing over him less then a second later, her usual grim expression present on her face, not giving away any emotions at all.

"See?" she frowned, "I told you he's alive."

Ivan wasn't really surprised when his elder sister took him in her arms, squeezing him tight enough to crack his ribs, and holding him so long he gasped for breath. She sobbed, her entire body shaking from it. "I thought you were _deaddddd_!"

Natalia rolled her eyes. "But he isn't. So, let's go. Now."

"W-what about the demon, aru?" Yao asked from his hiding place behind the counter, reminding the world of his existence finally.

"You're a collector," Natalia snapped, poison in her voice as she herded her unstable older siblings out the door before exiting herself. "Do something about it."

* * *

Poltergeist didn't really know what the loud, shiny thing the human girl had was, but he knew it hurt him and he didn't like it. He ran before it could hurt him again, into the back of the building, as far away as possible from the shiny thing. He stopped running finally, when he found himself in a room with many shelves. The human who was in the room stood parallel to Poltergeist, though they didn't say anything, staring with their mouth hanging opn.

Perfect.

* * *

The shop had gone quiet once Natalia, Katya and Ivan had left. Yong-soo was glad- the siblings (well, Ivan and Natalia, specifically) always left a tense atmosphere in their wake. Katya was okay, but she cried a lot.

Yong-soo had frozen- like a statue, he liked to think- when the first gunshot had rang out. There was a moment of silence before Katya began to wail, which he half expected, and then there was a second gunshot, which made him jump, his heart pounding in his chest.

He wondered who had been shot. Maybe it had been Yao- he didn't nurse that idea for very long, since it made him feel sick to the stomach. It could have been Natalia, except it was she who had ordered the gun.

He risked stepping out of the storage room, and found Mei doing the same, her eyes wide and fearful.

"Did you see_ it_?" she whispered frantically.

"See what?" He hissed back as the front door bells rang out.

"There was some giant rat, aru..." she murmured. "I think it ran into Kaoru's room..."

Yong-soo opened his mouth to tell her everyting would be okay, because giant rats were invented in Korea, when Yao rushed into the corridor, pushing Yong-soo out of the way as he stormed towards his office. Mei went to help Yong-soo back onto his feet as they listen to Yao angrily dial the number for the Demon Hunters' headquarters.

* * *

Arthur replaced the phone in its cradle, not sure what to make of the call he had just received. Yao had sounded extremely spooked by something, but he didn't give any details as to _what_ had done said spooking. He made it clear that he wanted someone to go to the shop for investigation and extermination, though.

"Well that's bloody wonderful." Arthur muttered.

"Who was that calling?" Alfred asked from behind Arthur. His tone was of peaked interest, but his body language didn't reflect his words. He was sprawled on the couch stationed in the dead-center of the room (a library, built underneath the dentist's-office-turned-head quarters) his younger brother in the matching arm chair, looking up from the book he had been reading.

"It was Yao." Arthur answered plainly, with a shrug. "Something happened at the shop and he wants someone to check it out."

"I'LL GO!" Alfred cried, almost too predictably, jumping up from where he sat. "I'm the Hero, I'll save Yao!"

Arthur sighed, and Matthew slouched into the arm chair. They had both gotten as used to Alfred's Hero complex as was humanly possibly, but it was never easy to live with.

"Matthew, " Arthur turned to the quieter blonde, "Would you mind going to Yao's shop?"

The younger sibling's face lit up. It was rare for him to get a chance to work alone, without Alfred or Francis or Gilbert or... Or anyone, really... He nearly jumped up like Alfred would when excited, but restrained himself. "O-of course!"

Alfred glared at his brother, although both Arthur and Matthew ignored the look.

"Okay, Matthew," Arthur said picking a book off the shelf nearest, glancing at the title boredly, then putting it back. "You can go. I don't know how big the issue is, so bring some kind of weapon. And your familiar."

Matthew nodded, patting Kumajirou's head, ignoring the bear's questioning "who?"

"Anyways, i'm sure you'll be able to handle the situation _maturely_ and _calmly_." Arthur said, his voice and attention turned to Alfred now, who glared back at the Englishman. "You can depart whenever you're ready."

* * *

Matthew left for Yao's shop with Kumajirou at his side and a semi-automatic assault rifle starpped to his back. The rifle was similar to Alfred's constant weapon of choice, but smaller.

He was glad to ba alone. Normally he was dragged around by his brother or whoever Arthur assigned as his partner. Sometimes he pondered leaving the group to work on his own, but thinking about the consequences made him decide against it. Besides, if he left, Alfred would either drag him back, or join him.

Which would totally ruin the aspect of working "alone".

Matthew turned onto main street, walking past the storefronts. He looked around, up and down the sidewalks, but there was no one outside today. It was very eerie.

He continued his walk down the street to Yao's shop, jumping at every noise. He startled as he heard a roar above his head, but looking up proved it to just be a commercial jet, the echo amplified by the empty street. Then his eyes found a huge pillar of grey smoke, climbing into the atmosphere, its base somewhere at theend of the road, around where Yao's shop was located.

Matthew broke into a spint down the sidewalk, Kumajirou slowly loping after him.

* * *

A/N: I am so sorry for not updating in... how long? A month? No, longer... you must all hate me D: I feel so horrible. I've had this chapter sitting on my desk for the past month-or-longer, pleading me to type it. I tried, but my attention span wasn't cooperating, i swear Dx

Anyways, it's done now, thank god. I hope you enjoyed chapter seven!

Andddddd, thank you all for the kind reveiws ! I've said it a hundred times, and I'll say it a hundred times more; Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you all!

Thanks for sticking with me guys, I'm starting the eighth chapter, like, now.

- Kat xoxoxoxoxo ;D


	8. Where There's Smoke

**Chapter 8: Where There's Smoke**

* * *

After what felt like an eternity of running to Matthew, he finally reached the end of the street, Kumajirou barely at his side. He had tried to image what disaster he would find waiting for him, but nothing he had concocted was as horrible as reality.

He stood, out of breath, in the midst of the burning building. The store stood broken, flames protruding through the windows, now just cavities for the blazing infection to breathe through, the glass shattered and covering the pavement beneath the frames. The smoke was thick in the air around the withering shop, making it extremely difficult for him to breathe. Stifling a cough, he forced himself to focus on the flames for a moment. They seemed to be churning into themselves, and Matthew could see parts of the ceiling and walls crumbling into the inferno. The building was going to collapse. Soon.

Three of the shop workers were outside, on the opposite side of the street from Matthew and the burning building. The eldest girl was darting around, collecting scraps of things that had escaped from the fire's grip, holding them in her arms, her long black hair coming out of its ponytail. The other girl, wearing a pink quipao smudged with black ash, was tending to the only boy, who appeared to be unconscious, laid out on the sidewalk. There was a bad cut on his forehead, which looked rather worrying. Yao, as well as the other shop worker, Kaoru, were no where to be seen.

The girl in the quipao, Mei, noticed Matthew and came stumbling over, pale as a ghost. Her eyes were frantic and pleading.

"Y-you have to help! He's still inside!" she cried, shaking Matthew's shoulder, as if to make sure he was real.

"Help who?"

Mei choked a sob. "Kaoru. He's the one who started the fire."

* * *

The firecracker-boy was good, Poltergeist thought as the building around him crumbled, fire at his every side.

The boxes that the host had sorting had held explosives and all sorts of things.

Deciding it would be fun, he had set them all off, but was careful not to burn the firecracker-boy- he hoped to play a little longer.

Matthew wasn't sure how to enter the building, since the windows were spitting flames a had broken glass still stuck in the frames. The door still stood, but looked as if it would turn to dust if he touched it, bringing the rest of the wall down with it. Which left the windows.

He gave as best a sigh as he could in the smoky air, pulling his hoodie so it covered his mouth and nose, and repositioning his rifle strap on his shoulder. He stepped back, lining himself up is his entryway, and broke into a run, shielding his face with his arm as he hurdled over the window's sill, Kumajirou right behind him.

The inside of the building was unbearably hot. If his sweater hadn't been protecting from the flames, and suffocating, he would have taken it off.

He stumbled through the ruined building, barely able to see anything from the terrible brightness of the flames. In the middle of the main room was a dark blotch amongst all the light- squinting at it, Matthew found it was shaped like a person.

"Kaoru?" He yelled. "Is that you?"

Suddenly the person disappeared into the fire, Matthew beginning to carefully pick his way through the debris, trying to find whoever, or whatever, that had been.

* * *

Poltergeist stared at the new human. They didn't like the fire- he could see that by how they were squinting and holding part of their shirt over their face.

"Kaoru?" the new human called, nearly drowned out by the debris burning in the shop. "Is that you?"

Poltergeist ran around and behind the new human, who was walking towards where he had just stood in the flames. He grabbed the back of the human's sweater, pulling them towards his borrowed body.

"Peek-a-boo." He sang, a malicious grin growing on the firecracker-boy's face. "You're it."

The human's eyes widened, in a mix of confusion and fear. "Kaoru?"

Poltergeist opened his mouth to say 'no, it is _Poltergeist_', when a beam fell from the ceiling, landing on both Poltergeist and the human.

Kumajirou watched as _Someone_ and the demon were attacked by part of the ceiling. The beam hit the ground with a crash, but it also dragged _Someone_ and the demon down with it. Kuma rushed over, as fast as he could make it over the flaming debris that littered the floor, going up to _Someone_. Thankfully, he was still alive.

"_Who_?" the bear thought, but _Someone_ didn't say anything in return. Kumajirou looked over to the demon, who appeared to be in the same state as _Someone_, trapped inside Kaoru's body, under the beam. Its smell had weakened, as if it were sleeping, but it was still putrid. Kumajirou instincts told him that the building was going to fall any moment, and took it upon himself to save _Someone_.

Grabbing hold of _Someone_'s hood with his teeth, he dragged him towards the door. His progress was tediously slow, and he smelled that the demon was coming to already.

Suddenly, behind Kumajirou, the front door crashed to the door- along with part of the wall and roof. After a sputtering coughing fit, a familiar voice yelled "Mattie? Kaoru?"

Kuma let go of _Someone_'s sweater to turn and see who it was that had just destroyed the door. _Someone_'s brother stood in the midst of the flames, looking over the burning shop. Finally, he saw Kumajirou.

"Mattie's bear! Where's… Oh!" _That other guy_ half-gasped when he saw his twin's body, lying unconsciously on the floor. "What happened? Oh, wait, you're a bear."

"_Who?_" Kuma thought, although _That other guy_ didn't hear.

"Look bear, just get him out side! Arthur'll help him! Go, I'll find Kaoru!" _That other guy _coughed again, before saying, "I'll be the hero!"

Kumajirou did as he was told, dragging _Someone_ out, back to the street, where Arthur was, in fact waiting. Moments later, _That other guy_ emerged from the building, Kaoru slung over his shoulder.

_That other guy _stunk like the demon, but no one seemed to notice, too busy tending to Kaoru and trying to get each other's attention, to call for help and other things. _That other guy_, or, the demon, went straight to where _Someone_ had been laid out, next to Yong-soo. Kumajirou growled at the demon, but it just chuckled at him.

"Silly familiar," the demon said, patting Kumajirou's head.

* * *

Matthew came to, just long enough to see Alfred sitting beside him, patting Kumajirou's head. It would have been a nice sight, had Kuma not been growling threateningly at Al, and Al not grinning maniacally, the same way Kaoru had been grinning before he had blacked out.

He passed out again before he could say anything, the image of his brother wearing someone else's smile haunting his fevered dreams.

* * *

A/N: Hello all :D back with another chapter of Fighting the Shadows!

Incase you were wondering, Kumajirou is calling Canada "Someone", and America "That other guy" xD My headcanon may or may not have taken over there haha.

Just curious, but are there any particular demons you'd like to have pop up in this story? (That mens anything like vampires, werewolves, gremlins, banshees, etc.) I'd love to hear and have some suggestions and/or ideas from my lovely readers!

I apologise for the lack of hilarity in the recent chapters, but don't worry, it'll return in due time!

Thanks again; reveiws are fabulous!

- Kat xoxoxoxo

PS. By the way, if you guys are interested, I have a collabaration account with my friend The Similar! Please check it out (especially Food for Thought- I'm sure you'll enjoy that one ;) )- I'd love to hear from you guys there too!

*ends self advertisment xDD*

Thanks again!


	9. For He's a Jolly Good Fellow

Chapter 9 – For He's a Jolly Good Fellow

* * *

"Alfred, you smell positively horrific."

Poltergeist turned to find the stern human with the huge eyebrows looking at him sceptically.

"You stink of demon." The human huffed.

Poltergeist flashed an apologetic grin and said, "Is that so? I suppose I should go bathe." And left the hall before the human could say anything more.

"That is definitely not Alfred." Arthur said loudly once again, as he viciously turned through heavy leather bound books in the back of the Headquarters' library. "Alfred would never actually do something like _bathe_ without being forced into it, let alone _suggest _such things. AND he stunk of demon!"

"If it isn't him, who, or what is it then, aru?" Yao asked, matching Arthur's volume mockingly.

Arthur turned to the Chinese man, offering him a glance that could burn toast. It had only been a day after Yao's shop (and home) had burnt down, and only a night which he and the rest of his siblings had been staying at the Headquarters and Arthur was already regretting offing to let them stay.

"If I knew, I wouldn't be here, now, would I?" Arthur grumbled. Yao shrugged, returning to his own book, although he gave his eyes a roll of I-know-something-you-don't-know. "Well?"

Yao sighed, closing his book dramatically, and looked at Arthur as if he were a small, oblivious child. "You do assume that this is some sort of parasite, right, aru?"

Arthur frowned. He actually hadn't; he had assumed it to be some sort of shape shifter, and had been looking through the demonologist logs for shape shifters- according to which, there was no such thing as a demon that could shift into a human's form. A parasite, on the other hand, made sense. A lot of sense. "Oh."

"'Oh', he says, aru." Yao half-laughed, "and it all fits together now, doesn't it? Look at page 187."

Arthur caught the book Yao tossed to him, the one he had been reading just moments earlier, and opened it to the hundredth and eighty-seventh page, as instructed. He jumped a little at the hideous face he found staring back at him, labelled "Poltergeist".

"That's what was in my shop, after Natalia shot it out of Ivan, aru." Yao said plainly. "It says that it's nearly impossible to kill. You have to trap it in furniture and things like that, aru."

Arthur dropped the book suddenly, and fled from the library, headed for the kitchen. Yao stood from the arm chair he was sitting on, following the Englishman with a bemused look on his face.

* * *

Gilbert assumed that, since West hadn't given him any other instruction, he meant for his older brother to go and do something that wouldn't get anyone killed. He figured making a sandwich would fit the bill, and thus wound up in Arthur's kitchen, while Ludwig was off, looking to discuss important business.

Hunting down the condiments that were hidden far in the back or Arthur's slightly neglected fridge, Gilbert became aware of another presence in the room, his bird (which he had decided should be named "Gilbird", after his awesome self,) peeping and flapping its wings wildly, sending a cry of "DANGER! DANGER!" into Gilbert's head. Gilbert turned around, to find Alfred leaning against the counter.

"Oh," Gilbert frowned slightly, shooting Gilbird a thought of 'shut it, stupid bird, it's just the American'. "Hey Al."

Alfred smirked. "Hello."

Gilbert went back to looking for sandwich-making-materials, as Alfred decided to move awkwardly close, until he was practically breathing down the albino's neck. Gilbert jumped back, yelling "WHOA, WHOA. _WHOA_. PERSONAL SPACE, MAN."

Alfred just stared at Gilbert blankly, which was unnerving, so the albino backed away from the fridge.

"Uhm, I guess I'll see you later, Alfred…" Gilbert said, walking towards the door almost too quickly, Gilbird once again saying "DANGER! DANGER!" Alfred tipped his head, giving an eerie grin.

"You know what, human," Alfred said in a mocking tone, "Poltergeist doesn't think he's going to let you leave."

Gilbert had enough to think "Shit" before Poltergeist took hold of his mind.

* * *

"What the bloody hell…"

Arthur looked at the two unconscious demon hunters that lay on his kitchen floor. Alfred was the first to stir, eyes opening almost too quickly as he let out a panicked yelp. "What the… Owch, my head…"

Arthur watched his brother sit up slowly, taking his head in his hands. He gave him a quizzical look, then asked, "is it really you, Al?"

"Drop dead, Iggy."

That answered his question well enough, which led to the next thing to attend to. "What happened?"

Alfred shrugged, then proceeded to crack his knuckles obnoxiously. "I'unno. All I remember is going into Yao's shop to be the Hero, 'cos Mattie and Kaoru were in there and you told me to save them and then I found Kaoru. Then I wake up, lying in the middle of the kitchen with this total migraine."

Arthur frowned. "That's it?"

Alfred nodded and shrugged at the same time, which looked like he had a bad twitch. "Uh, yeah, I think… Oh! And this weird talking dog-thing attacked me before I blacked out."

Arthur gritted his teeth. "Brilliant. Just brilliant."

Behind Arthur, Gilbert was getting to his feet, giving a strange little chuckle. Arthur spun to face him, a look of perturbed fear on his face. "Al, go find Elizaveta."

"But my head hurts…"

"_Now_, Alfred." Arthur snapped, having a stare down with the possessed albino.

Alfred groaned, stumbling towards the door, grumbling something about how big eyebrows must make you more bossy.

* * *

Peter peered out from the barely-opened door of the cupboard he was hidden in. He had snuck into his elder brother's kitchen to execute his brilliant plot of putting poison into his all of Arthur's food (although he'd forgotten the poison, so he decided to switch the sugar and salt, and make vinegar ice cubes for good measure), when Gilbert had came stomping into the room. Quick as a mouse, Peter darted into the almost-empty up board under the sink, and watched intently as Gilbert raided the fridge, humming something. It was all rather boring until Alfred came in, and then some thing jumped out of Alfred and into Gilbert and they both fainted.

And now Arthur was there, and Gilbert had the thing inside him and looked murderous. Maybe, if Peter was lucky, he'd get horribly injured and Peter would have to jump to the rescue.

Or, maybe Gilbert would just kill him.

Either way, this was way better than TV.

* * *

Elizaveta sat in one of the conference rooms, two halls over from the kitchen. She was working on some sewing, which she wasn't doing particularly good at, pricking herself and having to bit her tongue to keep from swearing in a "very un-lady-like manner", as her dear Roderich would have put it. Suddenly, Alfred burst into the room, yelling "Hey Liz, Arthur needs you to bash Gilbert's head in okay they're in the kitchen and holy shit I'm tired" all in one breath, before stumbling off.

Elizaveta looked down at her frying pan that sat in Roderich's sewing basket, which she was borrowing. With a sigh, she put her project down and took her cast iron frying pan in hand, which felt much more in place compared to the sewing needle. She grinned at this, and set out to find the kitchen, and take care of that idiot.

"I know what you are, poltergeist." Arthur said to the demon, in as calm a voice as he could muster. The demon grinned.

"So eyebrows-human knows Poltergeist? First human knows Poltergeist, eyebrows-human is."

"Yes," Arthur said stiffly, a wee bit irked by the demon's eyebrow comment. "Yes, I know who you are. But I'm afraid we're going to have to say good-bye now."

Poltergeist chuckled, as a woman entered the room, brandishing a frying pan.

"What's going on, Arthur?" she asked, tightening her grip on the cooking utensil's handle.

"Our dear Gilbert here," Arthur motioned to Poltergeist, "Has become possessed. I was wondering if you could give me a hand in exorcising it."

Elizaveta grinned maniacally. "Don't mind if I do. Any specifics?"

Arthur shrugged. "A good whack to the head should do perfectly fine. I hear you're familiar with that procedure."

Elizaveta shrugged. "I do my best."

Before Poltergeist could react, the woman was before him, quite a bit shorter then his host but exerting a terrifying aura. And with a single swing of the Frying pan an a satisfying crack, Poltergeist found himself sailing through the air for the second time in two days.

Elizaveta frowned, standing over Gilbert's crumpled figure. "It's really not the same when its not _him_." She admitted as Arthur peered into the hall.

"Just be careful to stay away from the demon. It's behind the fridge right now."

"How are we going to catch it?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. Gupta is out with Herakles and Sadiq…"

* * *

Peter, still in his hiding spot and having witnessed the whole ordeal, gritted his teeth. He was a keeper, too! He could catch the demon.

* * *

At that moment, Vash, Yao and Ludwig barged into the room.

"What's going on?" Ludwig demanded. "I heard… oh."

The blonde found his brother unconscious on the ground, which sort of answered his question, but sort of really didn't.

Vash sighed. "We thought you were getting killed or something." He holstered the gun he had been holding upon entrance. "Well, I'm not surprised it was just Gilbert. What did he do this time."

Poltergeist poked his head out from behind the fridge, making Yao yelp.

"That's it! That's the thing!"

"Vash, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Same for you Ludwig, if you have any weapons."

Vash snorted. "And why should I do that? And what is that thing behind the fridge? One of your friends, Arthur?"

"I'm not joking Vash, that's a very powerful parasitic demon and if it possesses you while you're carrying your guns with you, we're all dead."

Vash frowned, but backed out of the room without a word.

"Wait, so what _is_ going on?"

"Oh, nothing too big," Elizaveta said, prodding Gilbert's body with her foot. "Just your brother getting possessed and I had to exorcise him. A normal day in the life of a demon hunter, right?"

Ludwig ignored the last comment and turned to Arthur. "Well, what are we going to do? We have to catch it, right?"

"Yeah, we do. But I'm afraid that Gupta isn't here, and we need a keeper."

Peter took that as his cue to burst out from under the sink, brandishing his hat and giving a cry of, "I'll do it!"

Arthur did a double-take along with Elizaveta, Ludwig and Yao. "What the…? Oh, no you don't!"

By then it was too late; Peter had already hopped towards the fridge, a devious grin on his face. "Hello, Mr. Demon." He brought his hat down over the demon's head, bagging it as it struggled, squealing and lashing out.

Peter turned to face the four older hunters, holding the bag shut as best he could.

"_TAKE THAT_, Jerk Arthur!"

* * *

And, once again, Poltergeist found himself trapped, having been thrown into an old trunk and buried somewhere musty-smelling. He hated being trapped. It made him awfully sleepy.

* * *

A/N: And thus ends Chapter nine, as well as the Poltergeist plotline!

Thanks so much for reading this far, guys! And thank you for the reviews and suggestions (which I am still accepting of course- any ideas are very welcome!)

Thanks again! Reveiws make me smile :)

- Kat xoxox

PS. Gilbert will be waking up with a headache ten times worse then Alfred's, that's for sure xD


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

"What the…"

Kiku stood, frozen by shock as he stared wide-eyed at the remains of Yao's store, which no longer resembled a store in any way, shape or form.

Silently, he told himself to stay calm, but the longer he looked, the faster his heart raced; the faster he turned to thoughts of a fire devouring the store, along with his family…

He gave is head a quick shake, to clear his mind. He had to think clearly, and there was no need to grieve for his family, if he didn't know if they were dead or not. He took to searching out his family down the street, asking the passers, who, in turn gave him no useful lead, as they had never heard of the shop or its having been burnt down in the first place. Kiku ducked into an alleyway, dialling the number of the only person who could possibly know where Yao and the others were.

At least, so he hoped.

* * *

"Where did he go?"

Alfred looked up and down the hall of the abandoned school, slinging his rifle over his shoulder in exchange for one of the wooden stakes at his belt. Arthur, sporting an identical belt, was ducking into classroom after classroom, holding a stake tightly in his one hand. Arthur motioned SWAT-team-style for Alfred to go check the classrooms down the other side of the hall.

Alfred yawned loudly.

"This is stupid. Vampires don't come out during the day, even in stinky old boarded-up schools. And, seriously, why would he be in a classroom? Classrooms are boring; if I were a vampire, I'd go somewhere dramatic, like the auditorium or gym, or something."

Arthur sighed; looking at the ceiling as if wishing it would cave in on him already.

"Alfred, do me a favour and never become a vampire. Ever. He ran into this wing, anyways, no thanks to your shooting at him like a madman with that ridiculous rifle of yours." He rubbed his temples, exhausted. "What I wouldn't give to be working with Matthew right now."

"Hey, it's not my fault he's hurt!" Alfred snapped, Arthur rolling his eyes.

"Actually, it is."

"Yeah, whatever." Alfred mumbled, tapping the point of his stake with his finger until he pricked himself, drawing blood. "Ow."

Arthur resisted the urge to face palm, instead shaking his head slowly. "Well, that's one way to find a vampire. Brilliant. Just bloody brilliant."

Alfred looked up at Arthur, eyes wide. "What? What do you mean '_that's one way to find a vampire'_?"

There was the soft sound of footfalls coming from behind Alfred, from one of the classrooms he was supposed to check. Both demon hunters turned to see the vampire standing in the shadows, watching Alfred attentively with yellow cats' eyes. He licked his lips, hungrily.

"Oh." Alfred said with a slight frown. "Well, shit."

The vampire hissed, lunging at Alfred, who squeaked, and kicked it in the gut, sending it tumbling back a few feet. Jamming his bleeding finger in his mouth, Al stumbled backwards, almost in to Arthur, who sidestepped, pulling an ornate cross from the back of his belt. The vampire turned its attentions to Arthur then, shielding its eyes while crying out in pain.

Arthur pressed forward, the vampire crawling back into the closest classroom. Arthur turned to his companion expectantly. "Well?"

"What?"

"Aren't you going to, y'know, be the hero? Save the day?" Arthur said, gesturing at the classroom door.

"Oh! Oh, right! Yes, okay!" Alfred nodded, and still nursing his finger, charged into the classroom, Arthur following him cautiously.

The classroom was a science lab, with huge floor-to-ceiling windows, which were only partially boarded up. In the middle of the room, between two lab benches were the remains of the vampire, still smoking from where the sun had met unholy skin. In the pile of ash rested a charred heart.

"Hey, I don't get it," Alfred grimaced as Arthur went to pick up the heart cautiously.

"Don't get what?" the Englishman sighed, barely looking up at the younger man.

"Don't vampires sparkle?"

"Oh, for god's sake, Alfred, I've told you a hundred times that blasted book is complete blasphemy. You _know_ vampires don't sparkle, so don't be an idiot." Arthur snapped, just as his phone began to ring. He pushed the heart into Alfred's arms before picking up with an exhausted, "Hello?"

As Arthur took his call, Al picked at the vampire heart, nose wrinkled in distaste. Arthur shot a glare his way, before saying "oh, stop by the headquarters, I can explain everything" into the receiver, and hanging up with a curt farewell.

"Who was that?" Alfred asked, passing off the heart again.

"Kiku." Arthur said, heading off down the school corridor, barely turning to say "Time to go."

* * *

A/N: Hey guys, super long time no see! School has really bogged me down the past few monthes, but I'm mere weeks away from a new semester, and hopefully more fanfic-writing time!

anyways, you probably noticed that this chapter is crazy short.

That would be because it is ONLY HALF A CHAPTER. I still haven't finished part 2, so that will become chapter 11. I just couldn't stand being a huge dick for anylonger!

So, enjoy, my lovelies.

until next time!

Kat


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

* * *

Kiku was greeted at the headquarters by two bickering strangers and a plethora of cats. The two men were shouting at one another, neither noticing the newcomer. Kiku cleared his throat loudly, trying to catch their attention with no avail.

"Excuse me?" he said, stepping forward. The men didn't budge, faces turning red from loss of breath though neither stopped spitting insults at the other.

Kiku peered around the two men bickering in the middle of the room, stealing a glance at his destination. He looked back to the two men who were still yelling themselves blue in the face, and decided he'd have to move around them, as hard as it was for him morally.

He quickly darted around them, quietly excusing himself although he was pretty sure that no one heard him.

About two steps away from the doorway, a gruff voice asked him, "Where do you think you're going?"

Kiku turned around slowly, realizing that the bickering had stopped. The two men were now staring at him, the bigger of the two obviously sizing him up. Kiku inhaled slowly.

"I was… I_ am_ looking for Arthur, uh, Kirkland. You wouldn't happen to know where he..."

"He isn't here."

Kiku looked at the ground, then slowly back up, accessing his chances of survival if he made a run for it. "Well, do either of you gentlemen know where he is?"

"No."

He was starting to figure that his chances with rather slim.

"Ah, well, I suppose, I'll be off. My apologies…"

"He should be back soon." The huge man said, voice echoing through the dusty waiting room. "Why don't you have a seat?"

Kiku backed away, but bumped into someone. He turned to find a small man standing behind him, staring at him blankly. "So sorry, uhm, no, I'll just be on my way, but, uh thank you for your assistance…"

Then, finally, a familiar voice called out, "Aiya! Kiku, is that you?"

Kiku never thought he'd be as happy to see Yao as he was in that moment.

* * *

Arthur was surprised to find Kiku already at the HQ. He was sitting at the kitchen table, sandwiched between Sadiq and Heracles, who were fighting, per usual. This time, their debate appeared to be for Kiku's affections, which was strange, to say the least.

"Look, I can take you to this great place for hunting. So many gorgons." Heracles was saying. "I mean, sure, you can look at anything but your own two feet, but have you seen how much a Gorgon's head brings in?"

Kiku timidly shook his head no.

Sadiq sneered. "_Puh-lease_. Gorgons are so cliché. I can show you how to catch an Imp. Those are rare little buggers."

Kiku looked down at the floor, slowly shaking his head, while both men continued to talk about the creatures they knew of and how much they were worth.

"Look, we can go right now!" Heracles said, tugging on Kiku's arm. "There's a nest not far from here, and there's probably some new spawn…"

"No way!" Sadiq tugged on Kiku's other arm, pulling the smaller man out of his seat. "I'll take you to the Imp nest!"

"He wants to go hunt gorgons with_ me_!"

"No, he wants to go with _me_!"

"Gorgons!"

"Imps!"

"Gorgons!"

"Imps!"

While the men fought over Kiku like two children over a toy, Arthur turned to the open door, where Alfred stood.

"Does Yao know he's here?"

Alfred laughed loudly, adding to the overall volume of the kitchen. "Uh, _yeah. _I just checked with him. It was old news, bro."

"Don't call me 'bro', Alfred."

"Sorry br- Arthur," Alfred snickered.

"C'mon! Let's go!" Heracles cried, dragging Kiku off, leaving a fuming Sadiq behind. Alfred stepped out of the way as the two men an a sizable stream of cats passed through the door way and down the hall.

"Sheesh, are all those cats his familiars?" Alfred gave a short whistle.

"Nope," Sadiq answered, sitting down again. "It's actually all one cat. It can split it's self up into clones, sort of."

Arthur regarded him curiously. "It does what now?"

"Clones it's self. I've only seen the original cat once or twice. It's a fat little bugger."

* * *

Lovino was running.

It was one of those times where if you stopped running, you'd die. It happens. Especially when you're a demon hunter.

While Lovino was running, he was searching for one other person, because at the moment he was without weapon. The thing he was running from had eaten his weapon only moments before, which was slightly embarrassing, even though no one else was there to see.

Lovino stumbled over a pipe, but he didn't stop running.

Stop running and die. That was a constant in his mind right then. It would be a constant in anyone's mind, if they were running from a man-eating, sewer-dwelling, shit-smelling, SUV-sized demon slug.

Today was not going well.

* * *

**A/N:** heyyyy guysssssss. I'm alive. Really.

Okay that's a lie, I'm a zombie.

This is where I'd usually where I'd apologize for being late, but, eh. I've been really busy with school (really, really, reallyyyyyyyyyyyyy busy), and I haven't been doing much aside from balance sheets (evil math is evil) and scientific report shit that doesn't make sense to me because I'm not a goddamn scientist.

Anyhoo, I'm alive, I've written chapter eleven, even though it's short. Technically, it's the second half of chapter ten. So if you read those two chapters really fast, skipping over chapter ten's author's note, and just going straight through to here, then maybe it will appear to be the single chapter it was intended to be.

I do hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Until next time, I am Kat, and this has been Fighting the Shadows.

_after note: thank you to Sotnosen93 for the suggestion for the gorgons :3 the plot line with Greece & Japan will continue in the next few chapters._


	12. Chapter 12

A Note of Thanks and Fare-wells

Hello reader of Fighting the Shadows! As you have probably figured by this time, this is not a chapter of FTS. It is actually a notice of the discontinuation of this story.

Now, I wouldn't' be shocked if this were no surprise to you, dear reader, as I haven't updated in God knows how long, and frankly, I've completely forgotten the plot that I had in mind for this story. But that isn't my only reason for dropping this story; I've gone through a lot of growth as a writer (or, so I like to think), and this story just doesn't quite meet my personal standards anymore. I've gone through a lot of trying events in my personal life, which I am still getting over both emotionally and psychologically, and I've simply lost interest in the Hetalia fandom, but I've also lost my main source of encouragement and editing to time and its nasty tricks.

Aside from the long, babbling explanation, I'd like to give you all my deepest gratitude for your patience, commitment and encouragement throughout the eleven chapters of this story. You've all been so wonderful.

Thank you all once again,

Kat


End file.
